News Centre

Most recent news stories

• Burger company withdraws products

  Friday 22 March 2013

  Testing carried out by Powys County Council, as requested by the FSA, has shown that three samples of beef burger products made by catering supplier, The Burger Manufacturing Company (BMC), have tested positive for at least 1% horse meat.*

• Update on EU sampling programme

  Thursday 28 February 2013

  The FSA is today publishing further details of the European Union sampling programme that was agreed by member states and announced by the FSA last week.

• Research call: Trichinella in UK wildlife

  Thursday 28 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency is inviting tenders to gather and assess data on Trichinella in UK wildlife, to support the UK case for risk-based monitoring of pigs at slaughter.

• Call for new research on E.coli in cattle

  Tuesday 26 February 2013

  A report, published today by the FSA in Scotland, has recommended that the use of livestock feed additives and cattle vaccines should be investigated for the control of E.coli O157 on UK farms

• FSA update on testing of beef products for horse DNA

  Friday 22 February 2013

  The FSA has received the second set of test results from the food industry, which has been checking for the presence of horse DNA in products that are labelled as beef.

• Open meeting of Scottish Food Advisory Committee

  Friday 22 February 2013

  The Scottish Food Advisory Committee of the Food Standards Agency is holding an open meeting in Aberdeen on Tuesday 26 February 2013.

• FSA Board meeting papers published

  Friday 22 February 2013

  The agenda and papers for this month's open Board meeting have been published. The meeting is being held in London on 5 March 2013. It will begin at 1pm and will be chaired by Agency Chair Jeff Rooker. You can attend in person or watch it live online.

• Scotland: frozen beef burger contains horse DNA

  Thursday 21 February 2013

  FSA is aware that North Lanarkshire Council has reported a positive result for horse DNA in a frozen beef burger that they submitted for sampling. Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the burger.

• NI cold store tests find horse meat

  Tuesday 19 February 2013

  As part of its ongoing investigation into mislabelled meat, the FSA has tested a quantity of frozen meat currently detained in a cold store on the premises of a company called Freeza Meats* in Northern Ireland, which is potentially linked to the Silvercrest factory in the Republic of Ireland.

• FSA meat testing survey expanded

  Tuesday 19 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency has expanded its UK-wide survey of food authenticity in processed meat products being carried out through local authorities.

• FSA publishes industry test results on beef products

  Friday 15 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency is today publishing the first set of industry results from beef products that have been tested for the presence of horse DNA.

• Update on police investigations into horse meat

  Friday 15 February 2013

  Further to the arrests made yesterday in Wales and West Yorkshire in relation to suspected fraud, there have been seizures of evidence in Hull and London.

• New appointments to the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes

  Friday 15 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency is pleased to announce the appointment of two new members to the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP).

• Arrests made at meat plants

  Thursday 14 February 2013

  Dyfed-Powys Police have today made arrests at both meat plants inspected by the Food Standards Agency on Tuesday.

• Rangeland Foods withdraws burgers due to horse meat

  Thursday 14 February 2013

  Catering supplier Rangelands Foods in the Republic of Ireland today told the Food Safety Authority of Ireland that some of its burger products contain significant levels of horse meat.

• Latest bute test results on horse carcasses

  Thursday 14 February 2013

  The Agency's most recent tests on the presence of phenylbutazone (bute) in horses slaughtered in the UK checked 206 horse carcasses between 30 January 2013 and 7 February 2013. Of these, eight tested positive for the drug.

• February issue of FSA e-News published

  Thursday 14 February 2013

  The latest issue of FSA e-News has been published and is available online. The newsletter includes news and updates on some of the Agency’s activities over the past month

• FSA raids meat plant involved in alleged supply of horse meat

  Tuesday 12 February 2013

  As part of its ongoing investigation into the mislabelling of meat products, the FSA and police today entered two meat premises, one in West Yorkshire and the other in West Wales.

• Tesco finds horse meat in some Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese

  Monday 11 February 2013

  Tesco has this evening announced that it has found horse meat in some Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese.

• FSA statement on horse testing

  Monday 11 February 2013

  Following tonight's announcement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson, the Food Standards Agency has announced that it has begun a system of 'positive release' for horses slaughtered in the UK. This means that horse carcasses will require a negative phenylbutazone (bute) test before they are allowed to enter the food chain.

• FSA issues advice to public institutions on meat products

  Sunday 10 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency is issuing interim advice to public institutions, such as schools and hospitals, caterers, and consumers purchasing from caterers, in the light of the developing horse meat issue.

• FSA statement from meeting on contaminated meat

  Saturday 9 February 2013

  Following today's meeting between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Food Standards Agency, and representatives from the food industry regarding the ongoing contaminated meat incident, it has been agreed that the industry will deliver meaningful results from its testing programme by Friday 15 February.

• Aldi withdraws beef products due to horse meat

  Friday 8 February 2013

  Aldi has withdrawn two beef products tonight after its tests found horse meat in samples; the Food Standards Agency has issued advice to other retailers or producers that have sourced beef products from the French company Comigel.

• FSA statement on horse meat investigation

  Friday 8 February 2013

  The FSA has, this morning, issued a further statement about the horse meat issue.

• Update on FSA and industry testing programme

  Thursday 7 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency has announced it is demanding a more comprehensive meat testing programme from food businesses.

• Findus beef lasagne products found with horse meat

  Thursday 7 February 2013

  As part of its ongoing investigation into mislabelled meat, the Food Standards Agency has confirmed that the meat content of beef lasagne products recalled by Findus has tested positive for more than 60% horse meat.

• Meat testing protocol published by FSA

  Wednesday 6 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency has published the protocol for the UK-wide survey of food authenticity in processed meat products. This has been drawn up in collaboration with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the devolved rural affairs departments and local authorities.

• Bite magazine: the European issue

  Wednesday 6 February 2013

  The UK’s relationship with the European Union continues to hit the headlines, highlighting the debate under way on whether the EU works in the interest of its citizens. As a contribution to the discussion, the latest issue of the FSA’s Bite magazine examines the UK’s interaction with Brussels in the area of food safety.

• FSA and industry agree to publish testing programme

  Monday 4 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has agreed with the food industry to publish the results of industry testing of meat products, to provide a clearer picture of standards in the food chain. The results will also be made publicly available.

• New members sought for advisory committee

  Monday 4 February 2013

  The FSA is looking for people with expert knowlege or experience in novel biotechnology and enforcement issues, and someone with committee experience.

• FSA issues statement following Ministry of Justice announcement about non Halal meat

  Friday 1 February 2013

  The Food Standards Agency has been informed that a number of meat pies and pasties supplied to prisons in England and Wales were labelled and served as Halal but contained traces of pork DNA. The local authority is investigating how this contamination came about and whether these products have been distributed further across the UK.